Cardinal Wuerl reflects on next steps in wake of allegations against former archbishop

8/01/18

Reprinted with permission from the Catholic Standard in
Washington

On June 20, 2018, the
Archdiocese of New York announced that an allegation of abuse of a male
teenager, against Cardinal Theodore McCarrick when he was a New York priest
nearly 50 years ago, was deemed “credible and substantiated.” The retired
prelate was subsequently removed from public ministry.

At the same time as the New
York Archdiocese announcement, the Archdiocese of Newark and Diocese of
Metuchen in New Jersey revealed that confidential and undisclosed financial
settlements were made in two cases alleging that Bishop McCarrick, when he was
bishop there, engaged in misconduct with adult seminarians. These settlements,
it later turns out, were made in 2005, after Archbishop McCarrick was already
serving in the Archdiocese of Washington, and in 2007 after he retired. The
Archdiocese of Washington was not informed of the settlements and certainly was
not involved in them. Both confidential settlements came to light only in 2018.

The New York Times subsequently
printed an account of a man, now 60, who said that then-Father McCarrick abused
him in his youth. As a bishop, McCarrick reportedly continued a sexually
abusive relationship with the man over nearly two decades. Cardinal McCarrick,
who became the archbishop of Washington in 2001 and retired in 2006, denied the
first allegation and has not commented on the subsequent reports.

On July 28, it was announced
that Pope Francis had accepted Cardinal McCarrick’s resignation from the
College of Cardinals, and requested that Cardinal McCarrick withdraw to a life
of prayer and penance in seclusion until
the completion of the canonical process.

The same day that the New York
allegation was made public, Cardinal Wuerl wrote a letter to local Catholics,
expressing shock and sadness at the news, and noting that the final
determination of the case would come from Rome. He said a review of the
Archdiocese of Washington’s records found that no claim of any kind was made
against now-Archbishop McCarrick during his tenure in Washington.

Cardinal Wuerl noted, “Our
first priority as a Church is to continue to offer spiritual and pastoral
support for the survivors of abuse and their families, and to provide
assistance to help them heal and find peace.” He noted that the archdiocese
would continue to work diligently to ensure that parishes, schools and youth
programs remain safe and secure for the young entrusted to the Church’s care,
and he encouraged local Catholics to pray for “all those who have been
victimized by abuse, and for our Church, that everyone may experience the healing
power of God’s grace.”

The following is the text of an
interview with Cardinal Wuerl by the Catholic
Standard, a newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington.

1. In your letter to local Catholics regarding
Archbishop McCarrick, you noted the first priority for the Church is to
continue its spiritual and pastoral support for abuse survivors and their
families. What is your message to them in the aftermath of the news
regarding Archbishop McCarrick?

In every communication with our
Catholic faithful, clergy, religious and laity as this tragedy and its details
unfolded, I have emphasized that our first concern must always be with those
who have suffered abuse. In this case, as with other cases, it is imperative
that the leadership of the Catholic Church encourage survivors to step forward,
address abuse claims, and focus its attention and care on the survivors of
abuse.

In our spiritual and pastoral
ministries, we will continue to console, heal and nurture those most in need.
We will support them and their families, and provide assistance to help them
find peace and experience the healing power of God’s grace.

2. Over the past month, the Archbishop
McCarrick scandal has shifted a couple times. It was initially just one claim
in New York, but then the Diocese of Metuchen and the Archdiocese of Newark
disclosed the existence of confidential settlements for claims made by adults
against him. There have also been numerous stories or blog posts that repeated
long-standing rumors or innuendos that may be out there regarding Archbishop
McCarrick. How will these be addressed?

In the past month, I have seen
some of those now public reports. But in my years here in Washington and even
before that, I had not heard them. With rumors – especially old rumors going
back 30, 40, even 50 years – there is not much we can do unless people come
forward to share what they know or what they experienced.

The action taken by Pope
Francis within the past few days, accepting now-Archbishop McCarrick’s
resignation from the College of Cardinals affirms what many of us have been
saying for some time: that the Church must act decisively to show that we have
heard the voices of the faithful who demand action. To that point, it remains
important for us to have the fullest picture of the claims against Archbishop
McCarrick.

We are seeing some brave
survivors step forward to speak to the media, and share their stories. This is
a good first step, but I would hope these individuals and any others with
claims of abuse would come forward and speak with Church authorities – either
here at the Archdiocese of Washington or in the diocese where they reside. The
claims that have been made are profoundly troubling; individuals should not
have to bear them alone. The Church wants to accompany those in pain, to offer
pastoral or therapeutic assistance, to help heal their wounds.

We understand that for those
who have been abused, there is the fear of retaliation or shame, there remains
anger, and perhaps doubt that justice will be done. The Catholic Church has spent
many years working to create an environment for survivors to tell their
stories, and working to act on their claims, but I understand their hesitancy
even today. I would hope, however, that people with knowledge of such acts will
come forward so that we can investigate and give these claims full and fair
consideration. That is why we continue to call on all with information to come
forward.

3. You met with the priests of the Archdiocese
of Washington to discuss this matter. This news must be especially heart-rending
to the priests who worked with Archbishop McCarrick, who were ordained by him
or who served in parishes or other ministries when he was archbishop here. How
can they find healing in confronting this matter?

Priests in particular feel the
pain of the failure of a brother priest. The bonds of commitment and
ministry are strong, and we can feel extraordinary disappointment.
Priests also remind me that when there is a failure in the actions of one
priest, we all are somehow held accountable.

In the meeting with our
priests, I think we all recognized the pain and sadness of the human condition,
our need for God’s grace every day to carry out our ministry, and our need to
support one another just as we struggle to support the faithful entrusted to our
care.

One way to at least begin the
process is to actually speak about it frankly, and that was what we did in our
meeting. We discussed the media accounts of rumors involving Archbishop
McCarrick and that until the New York allegation was made public, there really
had been no substantiation of them, certainly not here in Washington. And I was
asked whether I had any knowledge of the specific allegation in New York, which
I had never heard before. So it was frank conversation.

We share the conviction that
any abusive behavior, any form of harassment or sexual misconduct is a betrayal
of our ordination promises. In attempting to understand how this happened, it
enables each of us to better communicate to those we serve who are feeling just
as disappointed and hurt, if not more so for the breach of trust.

4. You also met with the archdiocese’s
seminarians and spoke with them about this. What are your hopes and
prayers for these men moving forward, as they continue discerning a call to
serve Christ and his Church as priests?

My concern for the seminarians
is that they would not have their zeal and idealism in any way tarnished by the
failure of any priest. One of the consoling things for me in that
meeting, as I listened to their comments and observations, was the recognition
that these young men are firmly grounded in their faith and their spiritual
life is truly focused on Jesus, the Lord. I remained impressed with their
maturity. They are the heirs of the experience of social media and so are really
not completely shocked by such tragic news. Disappointed yes, but sexual abuse
in our culture and society is not news to them.

We hold this great treasure in
earthen vessels, Saint Paul tells us. The seminary is a place where we
try to realize all the more how precious the treasure is and our need as an
earthen vessel to be as attentive as possible to the work of God’s grace in our
lives. It was important that we met at Saint John Paul II Seminary, that
we prayed together for the survivors of abuse, and that we reaffirmed our
commitment to reflect Christ’s love and mercy on our vocational journey.

At every ordination and
throughout the year, I talk with my brother priests and our seminarians about
the holy life to which we are called, and about the faithful love that is at
the heart of priestly ministry. Remaining true to that call, trying to be icons
of Christ in our community and our world, is needed today more than ever.

5. The family of faith in the Archdiocese of
Washington, in its parishes, schools and agencies, has also experienced the
shock and disappointment of the news involving their former archbishop.
How do you hope that they can find healing?

The news regarding Archbishop
McCarrick was a great shock to our Church in Washington. There is understandable
anger, both on a personal level due to the charges, but also more broadly at
the Church. Our faithful have lived through such scandals before, and they are
demanding accountability. I believe the actions taken by Pope Francis clearly
reflect an understanding that we must move swiftly to address claims of any
form of abuse or serious breach of trust by ministers of the Church, no matter
who they may be or what position they may hold. Acknowledging such grave
breaches of trust and seeking forgiveness open the doors for healing.

The starting point for our own
healing is the recognition that God is with his Church and that the Church does
not depend on any individual human being, and that God’s grace is at work among
us through all of those whom he calls to ministry or to any other particular
pathway in life.

I would hope we would not lose
sight of the larger vision of our Church. Across the archdiocese we have many,
many fine priests, deacons, and religious, we have lay staff and volunteers in
parishes and Catholic Charities, who do amazing things for their neighbors
every day. For all of the necessary attention we must give to the current
crisis, I would hope that as part of the healing process we come to see the
good we accomplish every day and that we continue to share God’s love across
our archdiocese.

Opening our hearts to God in
prayer also helps in healing, and our faith helps us see beyond the failure of
any person, and helps us hold fast to the mystery of God’s goodness at work in
this world and in the Church, the mystical Body of Christ, and in the
priesthood that is lived in so many good, effective, caring and faithful
priests. We should pray for all who may have in any way been harmed by
Archbishop McCarrick, and we should also pray for him.

6. When hearing of scandals in the Catholic
Church, there are those in the broader community, including some who have
drifted away from the Church, who might regard such news as a reaffirmation of
their disbelief in the Church as an institution or in the truth that it seeks
to teach. What would you say to them?

It is
understandable that some people hear this latest news and see it as
confirmation of their lack of faith in the Church, or their lack of trust in
its leadership. People were rightfully angry over the child sex abuse scandals,
which we continue to address. It means we must work harder.

Perhaps
one of the reasons the news about Archbishop McCarrick was so stunning was
because here in Washington, we had together made such great strides, not only
in growing the faith, but also in serving those in need, and, yes, protecting
the most vulnerable members of our community.

While
the reports today of sexual abuse almost always refer to actions taken years
and even decades ago, we must continue to take them seriously, fully
investigate them and offer survivors support and healing.

Our own
record in this Archdiocese is that we have made in the past, and continue to
make now, every effort to address abuse. Our Archdiocese has a well-developed
and enforced Child Protection Policy and a well-functioning Child Protection
Advisory Board that meets regularly and reviews the policy and its
implementation.

The
annual audit by an outside professional audit team has consistently affirmed
the quality of our protection and education programs and our fidelity to the
Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

This
does not mitigate in any way the pain these alleged actions have brought on the
survivors and their families, and on the members of the Church. We are at a moment
where, again, we must acknowledge such wrongdoing whenever it occurs. We must
continue to press forward with what was started in the June 2002 meeting in
Dallas to address, as a Conference of Bishops, the question of clergy abuse.

The
efforts at education, prevention and child protection have taken hold. That we
continue to deal with scandal from decades ago – while also seeing far fewer
abuse claims from current times – is a reminder of what we must continue to do.
It is a reminder that we must create an environment where survivors continue to
come forward to seek justice and healing, and that we as a Church must
acknowledge the pain of all those affected by abuse and do all we can to bring
them God’s grace and healing.

Personally,
I have drawn great consolation from the recognition that, like her Divine
Master and Founder, the Church is an incarnational reality. It has a
divine as well as a human aspect. The Church is the home of Christ’s
continuing presence in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, in the Word of
God and in the lives and works of charity of so many faithful.
Nonetheless, all that is transmitted through human beings. Jesus chose to found
his Church on the Apostles and called them to carry out his work.

In the long history of the
Church, not all bishops, the successors to the Apostles, have been perfect.
That is a reality which we live with because we understand that we are all
sinners in need of God’s grace and mercy. In the meantime, our task is to
support one another and to help one another to be everything that Christ asks
us to be, to stand for and live in his truth.